A top Moscow military expert then mocked the 'tiny' Royal Navy, which has been tasked with tracking the threat.

Britain has been without an aircraft carrier since HMS Illustrious was scrapped in 2014 but will be commissioning the £3.1bn HMS Queen Elizabeth in May 2017 (https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/119838...dy-for-action/). The hi-tech carrier is 280m long and weighs over 70,000 tonnes, eclipsing the 43,000 tonne Kuznetsov.

And insiders in Moscow's military circles say it marks a first step towards Russia asserting its dominance in the Mediterranean.

Defence expert for Russian news agency RIA, Alexander Khrolenko, said:[B] "While the North Atlantic bloc is stalling in the sands of the Middle East, the Russian Navy seizes control over the Atlantic, not to mention the Mediterranean and Black Seas."[/b]

The fearsome Northern Fleet is led by nuclear aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov and battle cruiser Peter the Great.

Images emerged yesterday of the ships sailing past the Norwegian city of Trondheim towards the North Sea, where they are expected to pick up an escort from the Royal Navy (https://www.thesun.co.uk/topic/royal-navy/).

The frigate HMS Richmond and destroyer HMS Duncan will likely shadow the Russian fleet to the Straits of Gibraltar.

But dismissive Khrolenko poured scorn on "what little remains of the Royal Navy".